Porsche sellers – dodgy dealings

Here in the UK the Porsche community is tight knit and, on the whole, everyone gets on well. I spend a lot of time with people who buy and sell Porsches and most are honest, conscientious and eager to give their customers the best service possible. And that’s how it should be.

However, just recently, I’ve had several phone calls from Porsche owners complaining about a bad practice. They’d been trying to sell their Porsches and had been approached by a dealer offering to sell the car on their behalf and claiming they had a customer lined up who was willing to pay a good price.

Tempted by the offer of a quick sale and a decent return, the owner dropped the car off with the dealer, who said the sale would go through in a few days. But it didn’t. When the owner queried this, the dealer said that the customer had pulled out but, not to worry, they had plenty of interest in the car. A few weeks on and the Porsche still hadn’t sold and the dealer was saying the asking price was too high and they’d need to drop it.

By now the car’s owner realised they’d been had, but when they asked to take the Porsche back, the dealer tried to charge them storage costs!

Now, I can’t say the name of the dealer involved but I have heard this story from several people and, as the saying goes, there’s no smoke without fire.

So, beware of anyone offering to achieve an unrealistic price for your Porsche. I sell Porsches for clients and always try to realistic about values, and make it clear that we may need to reassess the price if the car doesn’t sell. I know I’ve disappointed some people who thought their cars were worth more but, generally, they appreciate an honest and realistic valuation right from the start.